U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



8B 



Rejjort ]N"o. 61. 



TEA CULTURE: 



THE EXPERIMENT IN SOUTH CAROLINA. 



BY 



DR. ( HARLES U. SHEPARD, 

Spkcial Agknt i.v Chargk Tea Culture Invkstigatioxs, 




WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
18 9 9. 



Report No. 61 Deot of Agr 



Frontispiece. 







U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Report jSTo. t)l. 



TEA CULTURE: 



THE EXPERIMENT IN SOUTH CAROLINA. 



BY 




DR. CHARLES IV SHEPARD, 



Special Agent in^ Chahge Tea Cultuuk Investigations. 




WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
18 9. 



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D. OF D. 
JUN 19 1913 



LETTI:R 01- TRAXSMITTAL 



JMnehuijst Plantation, 

^Kmmcrrille, S. C, September 15, 1899. 
Sir : I have the honor to transmit liorewith, in accordance with your 
rcqnest, a rej^ort on tea growin- at this ].iace, and to suggest that tl.e 
tacts be made public as the means of encouraging others to take part 
in tlie developnient of this industry, 
liespectlully, 

Charles U. Siiepard, 
SprciaJ Agent in Charge Tea Culture Inrestigations. 
Ron. James Wilson, 

Secretary of Agriculture. 

3 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 

Introdnctiou 9 

Good .showing of Dragon's Pool tea 10 

Success of the Rose tea garden 11 

Increase of prodnct 12 

Cost of production 12 

Quality of the tea 13 

Severe test of tea gardens by cold weather 13 

Curing and quality of green tea 1.5 

Buildings and machinery 15 

Dit'ticulties in starting the industry 19 

Demand for green tea 19 

Cost of labor 19 

Irrigation 20 

Making new gardens 20 

Most profitable field 21 

A Plea for American Tea (article from Florida Times-Union, December, 1897). 21 

Favorable conditions 22 

May 1)e cultivated in the South 22 

Duties may be restored 23 

What may now be done 23 

A plan of operations 24 

Planting the seed 24 

Laying out the garden 25 

Cultivation 25 

The crop 26 

Flushes 26 

Pruning 27 

Manufacture 27 

5 



ILLliSTRATIONS. 



I'LATKS. 

8oiitli Friisc-r tc:i garden, foiu- years old. i'laiitod with "Dragon's I'ool " 

Chinese tea seed Frontispiece 

Pi.ATK I. Lincolu tea garden, autumn, l!S!t>!, when four years old. Phxnted 

with Darjeeliug tea seed M 

II. Lincoln tea garden, April, 189!), showing effect of vigorous prnn- 

ing after severe cold of February 14 

III. Kose tea garden, autumn of 1898. Flanted with Assam-hybrid 

tea seed 11 

IV. Rose tea garden, Ai)ril, 1899, showing effect of vigorous pruning 

after severe cold of February 14 

V. Rose tea garden, July, 1899, showing remarkable recuperation.. 14 
VI. Figure 1, roasting and rolling green tea. Fig. 2, a tea nursery in 

July ^r ^ 14 

VII. Views at Pinehurst. Fig. 1, lower story of tea factory; fig. 2, 

school for tea pickers 10 

VIII. Interior views of tea factory, Pinehurst. Fig. 1, upper story of 

factory ; lig. 2, lofts for withering tea leaf 1(5 

IX. Clearing Gantt's field preparatory to the establishment of experi- 
ments with irrigation on tea gardens 20 

TEXT I'lGlKES. 

Fig. 1. Rolling room of tea factory. "Little Giant" tea rolling machine in 
farthest room; in foreground, right side, "roll' being broken up; 
left side, broken roll spread on tra;, s and exposed in frames for 
oxidation 1(5 

2. " Little Giant" tea rolling machine 17 

3. Drying machines for "firing"' with hot air the rolled and oxidized 

leaf 18 

4. Weighing and boxing finished tea; ends of ihiers in farther room ... 18 

7 



TEA CULTURE: THE EXPERIMENT IN SOUTH 

CAROLINA.' 



INTRODUCTION. 

The problem of raising tea in the southern part of the United States 
has been discussed for many years. As early as 1S48 Dr. Junius Smith 
made a successful planting at Greenville, S. C, but the work was not 
continued and interest in tea culture abated. In 1881 Congress made 
an appropriation for an experiment in tea culture, but when Mr. William 
Saunders, Horticulturist and Superintendent of Gardens and Grounds 
of the Department of Agriculture, made an examination of the work 
done under it he found that owing to the illness of the expert, Mr. 
John Jackson, and other causes the money had been injudiciously 
expended and reported that there was little prospect of anything of 
value being accomplished. Thereupon by recommendation of Hon. 
George 15. Loring, Commissioner of Agriculture, the experiment was 
closed. 

In 1392 the subject was taken up again in the Annual Eeport in a 
re])ort by the writer upon the operations on the Pinehurst estate at 
Snmmerville, S. C. In 1897 a second report upon the work there was 
made by Mr. Saunders. The statement now published continues the 
presentation of the results obtained on the Pinehurst plantation. 

It seems probable from the facts so far gathered that the cultivation 
of tea can be made profitable in the warmer portions of the United 
States in two ways. One is by establishing a i)lantation on the scale 
of the experiment at Summerville, with capital sufficient to carry the 
work to a point where the product can be offered on equal terms with 
teas holding an established place in the markets of the United States. 
The other is to grow tea for home use in the farm garden. In either 
case tea growing can be undertaken safely only where the temperature 
rarely goes lower than 25° F. and never below zero, and where a liberal 
supply of water can be depended ui)on. There is probably no place in 
the United States where the rainfall is sufficient for the best results 
with the tea plant, and irrigation should where possible be provided for 
in growing tea. 

The experimentation at Summerville, on the growth and manufacture 
of tea, began about ten years ago. At the commencement it was wisely 
on a small scale, but has been gradually increased until now over 50 

•This paper brings up to date the reports on the growing of tea by Dr. Charles U, 
She.pard at his farm "Pinehurst." Suiumerville, S. C. Previous statements of 
the progress made will be found in the Annual Report of this Department for 1892, 
and in Circular No. 1, Division of O^ardeas and Grounds, this Department. 

9 



10 

acres have been planted ia tea. When the plants arrive at full bearing, 
the yield should be at least 10,000 pounds of high-grade tea; and this 
should suftice for the object in view, viz, to determine whether com- 
mercial tea may be profitably growu under the local conditions of soil, 
climate, and labor. 

It M-as desirable to conduct the experiments with as many varieties of 
seed and under as different conditions of soil and location as possible. 
To this end, by the kind assistance of the Department of Agriculture 
and by purchase from foreign and domestic producers, a considerable 
variety of seed, representing many of the choicest sorts of tea, was 
obtained. Gardens were established on liat and on rolling land, in 
drained swamps and ponds, and on sandy, clayey, loamy, and rich 
bottom soils. 

The problem of providing labor for ])luckiiig tea leaf has been solved 
so far as a steady and skillful band of nimble-fingered children goes; 
but its price is inordinately high as compared with the Orient. It was 
indispensable to secure a reliable corps of pickers. To meet this condi- 
tion there was built a comfortable schoolhouse and a competent teacher 
engaged. (PI. VI I, fig. 2.) The colored fjimilies of the neighborhood 
were then invited to send their children to the school free of charge. 
They would be taught the ordinary branches, and also would be taught 
to pick tea, and so earn money to buy food and clothing. The ofler was 
accepted, and now there is a good list of pupils to draw from as pickers 
are required. 

It was from the outset expected that many of these attempts would 
prove either i)artially or wholly unsuccessful. But being thoroughly 
convinced of the value of all experimental work honestly carried out 
and taithfully reported, the writer has not regretted the labor and 
expense incurred in these operations, especially as all but one (an 
attempt to introduce teas of too tender growth) have given at least 
some return and are steadily growing in yield. 

GOOD SHOWING OF DRAGON'S POOL TEA. 

The South Fraser tea garden makes a remarkable showing. It con- 
tains slightly more than 2 acres of tea bushes, planted at 4 by 1 feet 
distances. The bushes were raised from seed procured in ISOL* through 
the kindness of the United States Agricultural and State Departments 
and John Fowler, esq.. United States consul at Ningpo, China. It came 
from a celebrated garden near Ilangchow, the capital of the Province 
of Chekiang, called Loong Tsin, meaning Dragon's Pool. Mr. Fowler 
wrote that the seed was of the "very best'' sort and that the leaf was 
always made into green tea. Concerning the tea he also stated: "It 
has no market name, for the reason that it is not sold outside of the 
place of growth. It can not be bought in this port (Ningpo) nor at 
Shanghai. It is sun dried, and of course is not colored artificially. It 
is not exported; it is too dear. It costs 10 cents per ounce — ll.CO per 
pound — at Hangchow. Only Chinese can afibrd to use it; it is too 
dear for Americans — i. e., those in America." 



11 

As shown in the froutispiece, this garden is remarkably thrifty. The 
vacaucies amount to about 4 ])er cent only, and visitors practically 
acquainted with Oriental gardens have exi^ressed themselves as sur- 
prised by its luxuriant and uniform growth, even to the extent of stating 
that it equaled anything they had seen in the East. The bushes are 
thick, of comparatively low grofwth, and globular form. The leaf is 
generally rather small and quite tender; it is well adapted for the manu- 
facture of either green or black tea, although the weight of opinion 
among tea experts is that the latter product is the better of the two. 
The garden is mostly situated on a knoll, but a portion extends down 
into low moist land. The ground is clay loam, with a stiff clay subsoil. 
It haa been heavily enriched every spring with a high-grade fertilizer 
at the rate recently of 600 i)ounds to the acre. It suifered compara- 
tively little from the February freeze, only small patches requiring 
pruning back to within a few inches of the ground. 

The yield of (dry) tea has been as follows: 

Pouuds. 

1894 83. 8 

1895 185.7 

1896 215.9 

1897 247.5 

1898 307. 3 

1899 to September 15 469. 1 

There is every prospect that the crop of this year will exceed oOO 
pounds by the end of the season. It is safe to add that there are few 
gardens in China which yield a crop of over 200 pounds (dry) tea to 
the acre. It remains to be seen to what extent the output of this 
garden may grow. 

SUCCESS OF THE ROSE TEA GARDEN. 

The constant purpose and hope were to find from all of the data 
obtained some one way, readily accessible to all, by the employment of 
one or more sorts of seed and under conditions readily communicable 
to others, whereby tea may be profitably grown and manufactured in 
this section. This result seemed to have been demonstrated when the 
following report of the liose tea garden was published last fall in the 
News and Courier, Charleston, S. C, September 15, 1898: 

The site [of tlie "Rose Gardeu"] was an old piney woods poud, with a black, 
rich (in humus) but sour surface soil, overlyiug quicksaud and, yet lower, clay. 
The ground was thoroughly subsoil drained, heavily sweetened with burnt marl 
and deeply plowed. About 1,000 plants of acclimated Assam-hybrid tea were set 
out at 6 by 6 feet, "quincunx." Whether from the slowness experienced in over- 
coming the original acidity of the soil or Irom the comparatively feeble growth of 
the seedlings during the first few years— in this respect resembling its relative, the 
camellia japonica— little progress was made from 1890, the date of the establishment 
of the garden, until 1894, although some leaf was plucked from it in 1892. 

Again, the system of pruning practiced at the start of the experimentation, 
whereby clean stems were maintained, had to be abandoned after the loss of many 
plants and a degree of disappointment which almost caused the cessation of further 
work in this direction. 



12 

At present the garden contains about 800 vigorous bushes, each one composed of 
many stems, the result of cutting out the original main stem and inducing a luxu- 
riant sucker growth. There are also about 200 younger plants occupying the places 
where older one^ died; they naturally. produce less leaf. Altogether, this garden of 
less than an acre may be fairly regarded as containing the equivalent of 900 plants 
in good bearing. 

INCREASE OF PRODTCT. 

The output of green leaf from it has been as follows: Crop of 1892, 56 pounds; 
crop of 1893, 81 pounds; crop of 1894, 151 pounds; crop of 1895, 333 pounds; crop 
of 1896, 600 pounds; crop of 1897, 648 pounds; crop of 1898, 1,000 pounds to Septem- 
ber 1, with the prospect of reaching almost 1,200 pounds by the end of the season. 

It is to be noted that there has been a material increase each year over the preced- 
ing, amounting to almost if not quite 100 per cent, with the exception of 1897, when 
a prolonged autumnal drought materially interfered with the leaf production. It 
is, of course, impossible to fortell to what limits this expansion may extend before 
reaching that slight annual variation which marks the maturity of the plant. But 
it would not be surprising if the outturn were doubled within a year or two. 
Twelve hundred and sixty pounds of green leaf will afford 300 pounds of standard 
I'inehurst black tea. 

On a basis of 900 plants in the " Rose Garden,'' I he production per bush is 5 ounces 
of tea. If it Avere a full acre the yield would approximate 400 pounds. And if the 
plants had been placed at shorter distances apart, as is the practice in the Orient 
and now at Pinehnrst, the output per acre should be materially larger. The aver- 
age yearly production per bush in Japan docs not exceed 1 ounce; in China it is 
from 1 to 2 ounces; in India and Ceylon 3 to 5 ounces. In the last-named countries 
there are estates which annually ]iroduce over 1,000 pounds of tea to the acre; but 
they constitute the rare exceptions. Oriental tea gardens usually contain about 
2,000 plants to the acre. 

This gratifyingproductivenessof an experimental garden of almost an acre aflords 
good ground, for the belief that commercial tea may be grown in Soutii Carolina in 
quantity quite comparable with the average yield of the most favorably situated 
Oriental countries. But the "Rose Garden "' is not to be regarded as an exceptional 
result, nor of difficult imitation. Two larger gardens, also formerly i)iney-woods 
])onds, planted with Darjeeling seedlings.promi.se successful rivalry Avithin a few 
years, and yet others ajipear to be awakening to a more vigorous productiveness. 

COST OF PRODrCTION. 

The cost of a crop of 300 pounds of tea from the "Rose Garden," by reason of its 
greater productiveness, is much less than that from Pinehnrst as a whole, and yet 
it is evident that very material reductions might be secured were its area even only 
tenfold enlarged; much more so did it contain 100 acres. The following table shows 
the actual cost of the several operations in the growth, picking, and curing of the 
crop of 1898 in the "Rose Garden," as also the estimated and materially reduced 
exjiense for the same rate of ijrodnction on a larger scale: 



Items of co.st. 



Pruning 

Manuring . . . 
Cultivation .. 
Leaf picking 
Factory work 

Total . . 



Actual 
cost per 
pound. 



Cents. 
3 
3 
li 

U" 
(5 



Pos.sible 
reduced 
co.st per 
pound. 



Cents. 
2 

2 

1 



IG 



13 

A glance at the iibove table shows that the chief expense is that of yathcriiig the 
leaf. Experience has tlemoustrated that a smart lad or grown girl can pick from a 
good "Hush" 20 pounds of green leaf in ten hours, or, say, enough to make 5 pounds 
of tea. This should he done for 80 cents, or at 6 cents per pound. The supervision 
in the field will add 1 cent. With immature plants or poor "flushes" there is nec- 
essarily mucli more labor to be spent, and consequently more time in securing the 
same amount of leaf. Again, the "fineness" of the jducking materially inlluences 
its cost. The picking of a coarser and larger leaf or two from each shoot greatly 
increases the yield and lessens the cost. But with medium leaf picking, and in 
southern localities, where labor is cheap, with an outturn of at least 400 pounds of 
tea to the acre, this expense should not exceed 8 cents per pound. 

There remains to be considered the cost of superintendence and the tixed chai-ges 
for the outlay in the establishment of the garden and its maintenance until self- 
supporting. As to the former, the cost will largely depend on the size of the crop; 
on a i)roduction of 100,000 pounds per annum it should not exceed 2 cents per pound 
of tea. The expense of juitting the land in suitable condition fur a tea garden 
should not exceed that for any other intensive crop. The cost of raising and setting 
out the tea seedlings will vary from $2,5 to $50 per acre, according to whether raised 
from domestic or foreign seeds. In the establishment of a large tea estate the initial 
expenses are necessarily heavy, but it should be borne in mind that once well done 
it is practically for all time. The best .Japanese tea is said to be gathered from 
bushes two hundred years old. 

QUALITY OF THE TEA. 

The leaf plucked from the " Rose Garden," as indeed from the whole estate, is 
fine, i. e., it very rarely consists of more than the Pekoe tip and two leaves, and 
then only to the first Souchong. Heretofore, and without the aid of a protective 
duty it has been possible to sell all of the Pinehurst (^black) tea at $1 per pound retail. 
It remains to be seen whether the duty will be repealed now that hostilities have 
ceased, or, if not, what efi'ect it will have on the price of the better grades of tea. 
But after all deductions — and they are not to be underrated — it must be realized that 
there is a wide margin of jirolit between the cost of 1 pound of " Rose Garden" 
tea if produced on a large scale, say 25 cents, and the wholesale price of an equally 
good imported tea, say 50 cents. A profit of 10 cents per pound means a profit of 
$40 per acre on an annual production of 400 pounds of tea, and higher profits per 
pound, with increasing yield per acre, will rapidly swell the income. 

It is uow to be added that withoat uudue endeavor the writer sold 
his crop of 1898, about 3,000 pounds, as also about 500 pouuds of the 
crop of the previous year (which had beeu repurchased to luaintaiu 
prices), altogether about 3,500 pounds, at a profit of about U5 per 
ceut. But this simple statement fails to convey au adequate concep- 
tion of the achievement. The Pinehurst black tea has a distinctly 
characteristic flavor, and, like some of the choicer Oriental teas, its 
liquor has more strength than its color indicates. These qualities render 
its introduction slow. But it has always proved a difficult matter to 
change the taste of tea consumers; notably so in the introduction of 
Ceylon tea into Great Britain, the mother country of its i)roducers. 
Nevertheless there has been a steadily increasing demand for Pine- 
hurst tea, and a great many people will drink no other. 

SEVERE TEST OF TEA GARDEN BY COLD WEATHER. 

The past winter has fortunately (for the sake of most conclusively 
testing the feasibility of the local cultivation of tea) subjected the 



14 

gardens to an extraordinary ordeal, viz, tlie greatest cold in one hun- 
dred and fifty years — the fall of the thermometer on the morning 
of February 14 to half a degree below zero, F. Ilappily this occurred 
when the ground was covered to the depth of 3 inches with snow. 
It was observed that those plants which were in the jnost exposed 
situations suffered the least, having been brought by the previous 
cold weather into a state of hibernation which enabled them to 
withstand the extreme cold, Avhereas those which were in sheltered 
l^ositions or in the most luxuriant growth suffered greatly in all parts 
above the snow level. The result was, that it was found necessary to 
rigorously ])rnne back to within a few inches of the ground all of the 
bushes in the most productive gardens, which are generally in the 
drained ponds, and elsewhere those individual plants which especially 
suflered from the cold. The accompanying illustrations (Pis. I-IV) are 
from photographs of two fields, taken last autumn and in April of this 
year, and exhibit the extreme luxuriance of their leaf production at the 
former time and the enforced severity of the pruning at the latter. On 
May 1 every clump of shorn roots — for onr present system of cultiva- 
tion aims to substitute a cluster of straight vigorous stems for the 
single clean trunk — was more or less covered with a thrifty outburst of 
young vegetation. This gave i)romise that the phenomenal freeze of 
1809 would have no further ill effect than that which follows the cus- 
tomary low pruning every five or more years in India and Ceylon, which 
necessarily reduces production during the following few months, or, 
perhaps, entire season. Plate A', made from a i)hotograph taken of the 
Eose tea garden in July of the present year, shows that our expecta- 
tions have been more than realized, as the i)lants are fully two-thirds 
as large as they were at the same time last year. 

The anticipation that the phenomenal cold of last winter would not 
materially diminish the tea cro]) of 1899 is being substantiated. A 
comparison of the yield of dry tea for the two seasons shows the eft'ect 
of the previous severe winter in the diminished production of leaf in 
the early part of the plucking season, as also a gradually increasing 
yield thereafter until by the end of August the total crop exceeded 
that of the previous season by about 23 per cent. 

Tea crop, seasons of 1S9S and 1S99. 



For the months of — 



April . . 
May - - . 
June. .. 
July... 

August 



1898. 



Pounds. 

74.0 
472. <) 
428. 2 
671.7 
G2:t. 8 



2,271.2 



IS'.iO. 



Pounds. 
None. 
44.i. 1 
581. 2 
808. 3 
900 5 



2, 795 1 



The percentage of (apparently) seriously injured plants is small; 
that of killed outright yet less. At present the outlook for 1899 is 



Report No. 61, Dept. of Agr 



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Plate III 




Report No. 61 , Dept. of Agr. 



Plate IV. 



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Plate VI. 




Fig 1 . Roasting and Rolling Green Tea. 




Fig 2.- a Tea Nursery in July. 



15 

for a crop of over 3,000 pounds. The Rose and Lincoln tea gardens, 
which after the Febrnary freeze were pruned almost to the grouiul, 
have suflSciently recovered to afford small pluckings, Judiciously made, 
with the promise of abundant later flushes. The bushes in the Kose 
garden might be better termed "clumps," so luxuriant is the outburst 
of shoots. They average almost 30 inches in height and 36 inches in 
diameter, and at a recent ])lucking (August 18) afforded 22 pounds of 
(dry) tea. Tliere has not appeared any diminution in the strength of 
the finished tea. 

CURING AND QUALITY OF GREEN TEA. 

Considerable green tea has been made this season and it has found 
a fair sale. Designed to imitate the better class of teas made in the 
Orient and practically unknown here, it was not expected to find a 
ready market at the comparatively high price necessitated by its hav- 
ing to be manuftictured wholly by hand. Plate VI, figure 1, shows the 
two processes of roasting the fresh leaf in an iron pot with a very thick 
bottom and hand rolling on a table, which are the main j^oints in the 
manufacture of green tea. As yet no mechanical substitute for these 
combined operations has been invented. The rolled and partially dried 
leaf is afterwards fully dried under constant stirring and at a decreas 
ing temi)erature. Thus far the mechanical api)aratus erected at Pine- 
hurst for making green tea in vacuo has failed to produce the desired 
results, but it is hoped that later experiments may demonstrate some 
advantage from this process. 

Young and tender leaf from several sorts of tea plants was used in 
the manufacture of green tea. The best results have been obtained 
from Formosa leaf, but Japanese, some Chinese (notably that obtained 
from the celebrated '-Dragon's Pool" tea estate), and Kaiigra varieties 
have yielded satisfactorily. The bushes of these sorts are smaller and 
the yield less thaii is the case with the Ceylon and Indian. The leaf 
is also smaller and thicker and apparently less quick to oxidize, conse- 
quently better adapted for the manufacture of green tea. 

The green color of the infusion of Pinehurst green tea has attracted 
keen interest in the trade and among consumers. Oriental teas can 
hardly furnish the like in this country. The length of the transporta- 
tion induces a change of color in their liquor from greenish to yellowish 
red. It is well to urge upon most tea drinkers that the raspiness, 
which many conceive to be the strength and value of a tea, is chiefly 
due to tannic acid and similar substances, which are deleterious rather 
than nerve strengthening. A tea may be rich in this last property, 
and yet neither exhibit much color nor provoke throat irritation nor 
act injuriously upon the stomach. 

BUILDINGS AND MACHINERY. 

A well-equipped two- story factory with a daily capacity of 50 iiounds 
of dry, black tea has been built. It has over 2,000 square feet now 



16 

available for witberii.g the leaf, with the possibility of almost doubling 
that surface. A tea-rolliug machine which does work equal to that 
doue by 15 or 20 men at hand rolling, and two hot air drying macLmes 
fully adequate for all the needs of the place, form part of the equipment. 
There is also tbe beginning of a green-tea factory with specially designed 
machinery for rolling and drying leaf in vacuo, i. e., in a chamber from 
which the air has been pumped in order to prevent oxidization. Plates 
A^II and VIII show several steps in the manufacture of black tea. In 
the farther room to the right in figure 1 of Plate A'll may be seen men 
laden with Swiss trout baskets, which they have borne to the factory 
from the tea gardens where the children have rilled them with tea leal. 
This is not allowed to remain any great length of time in the gctrdens 




==^^nr?-'^'^'-™ 



Fig 1 -Rolliu- room of tea lactory; "Little Giant" tea rolling machine in farthest room ; in fore- 
ground rigMsiae. roll heing broken np ; left side, broken roll spread on tra> . and e.posed m frames 
for oxidation. 

for fear lest fermentation may ensue. When brought to the factory it 
is carefully inspected and weighed. 

It is- taken upstairs to the withering lofts shown in the illustration of 
the upper story (PI. VllI). Every pound of made (black) tea represents 
over 40 square feet of withering space. The usual output of the lactory 
in tbe busy season is about 50 pounds of dry tea per diem. There is 
need therefore for a great deal of floor room. This is supplemented by 
traveling trays of cloth, shown in the illustration. They are loaded on 
the floor: hoisted to top of room; transferred to the running gear, by 
which means they may be exposed to the hot air ascending through 
the pit from the tea driers below, or shoved where it is cooler, ihey 



Repoit No. 61 , Dept of Agr. 



Plate VII. 




Fig. 1. -Lower Story of Tea Factory. 




Fig. 2. -School for Tea Pickers. 



Report No. t>l, Dept, of Agr. 



Plate VIII. 




Fig. 1 Upper Story of Tea Factory. 




Fig. 2. — Lofts for Withering Tea Leaf. 



17 

may be dumped where convenient when the tea has been sufficiently 
withered. 

The tea h?af is then taken to the rolling room on the lower story 
(fig. ]), where it is rolled by machinery. A "Little Giant" rolling 
machine (fig. 2) is shown in the farther room of the lower story. After 
being rolled, the "roll" is brought into the room shown in the fore- 




Fia. 2 "Little Giant" tea rolling machine. 



ground of the illustration of the lower story; it is broken up, bad leaf 
removed, and then spread on clean cloths on trays, which are exposed 
for oxidation to the action of the air in the frames shown on the left. 
When sufficiently oxidized, the leaf is "fired" in driers which are 
located in the middle room (tig. 3). The finished tea is then weighed 
and boxed for shipment (fig. 4). 
4134— No. Gl 2 



18 



' The fruit evaporators made by the American Manufacturing Company 
have been most satisfactorily used at Pinehurst in drying tea. The 
moist tea is exposed to the highest temperature on the upper shdes, and 




al^-;: ' -■ ::jM,J 

Fig. 3.— Drying machines lor "arii.g" with hot air the rollid and oxidized leaf. 

as it dries out it is gradually lowered to a cooler temperature, where it 
does not come in contact with escaping vapors — a great advantage. 




Fig. ■!. — Weighic;; and boxing finished tea ; ends of driers in farther loom. 



19 



DIFFICULTIES IN STARTINa THE INDUSTRY. 

Among the several difficulties which confront the establishment of 
this new industry in the Southern States, the following are the most 
important: 

DEMANH FOR (iUEEN TE.A. 

(1) There is probably a greater demand in the United States for 
green than black tea. At present a large amount of sophisticated 
green tea is consumed in this country. As it is chiefly made of infe- 
rior leaf, highly colored with rrussian blue, and faced with powdered 
soapstone, etc., so as to hide all natural defects, it can not be regarded 
as either nutritious or healthful. But the nature of the demand indi- 
cates a decided i)reference for the taste and qualities of green, i. e., not 
oxidized, teas, and should stimulate us to supply in its stead a pure 
wholesome article of the same type. Unfortunately green teas can as 
yet be made by hand only; they represent cheap Oriental labor, and in 
the lower and medium grades competition by American manut^icture is 
well-nigh impossible. l>lack teas can be made by machinery in almost 
every step after the delivery of tho leaf in the factory. 

COST OF LABOH. 

(2) The cost of production of teas in this country is high, owing to 
the comparative dearness of labor. This must be met by a greater 
productiveness in the held; by the substitution of machinery for hand 
labor in the factory, and by the manufacture of varieties of teas which 
from inherent chemical causes can not be brought from the Orient. 

As to a greater productiveness, one essential factor demands atten- 
tion, viz, an abundance of the richest plant food, either natural or arti- 
ficial. At Pinehurst the cost of enrichment by commercial manures 
amounts to 4i cents per pound of the dry tea from the older .fields. 
The amount of production of tea and cost of artificial manuring are as 
folio w^s : 

Froduction, coat, etc., of tea (jrowing at Pinehuriit. 



Name of tea 
garden. 


Variety 

of 

plant. 


Location. 


a 

'2 




a 

ca 
"S 


uction of green 
eaf— 1898. 


IS 
3 -M 


uction of dry 
to tho plant 
1898. 

of commercial 
n u r e to the 
of dry tea.i 


Remarks. 










(0 




■^ 


~ a ■ ij « . 










H 


2 


2 


°£.a ^B£ 










<1 


w 


• (^ 


fk 


Ph y 




- 






Years. 


Acres. 


Ounces. 


Pounds. 


Ounces. Centg. 




Rose 


A. H. 2 . . 


Drained pond... 


9 


0. 83 


21, 70U 


323 


5.57 


2.3 


P 1 a 11 1 .-* 
placed 
6 feet 
apart. 


ClavHiU 


A.H.... 


Clayey hillside.. 


9 


1.50 


12,63U 


188 


1.88 


5.3 


Sand Hill 


A.H.... 


Sandy level.. .. 


9 


0.66 


6, 959i 


103i 


2.57 


5.0 


Xorth Bottom.. 


A.H.... 


Cleared swamp . 


9 


2.66 


22, (169 


328 


1.78 


3.9 


South Bottom.. 


A.H.... 


do :.. 


8 


1.87 


16, 110 


240 


1.92 


4.1 


South Fraser. .. 
Lincoln 


Chinese. 

Darjee- 
ling. 


Mostly clayey 

hill. 
Drained pond... 


6 
4 


2.00 
1.90 


20, 653 
17,854 


308 
266 


1.00 
1.00 


5 
4 


Plants 
. 4 feet 
apart. 



• The fertilizer used contained 5 per cent available phosphoric acid, 5 per cent xiotasli, and 5 per 
cent ammonia (chiefly from dried fish and red blood). 

2 A. H. refers to Assam-hybrid, mostly thoroughly acclimated tea, a cross of the Assam and Chi- 
nese sorts ; and largely introduced into this country in the fifties. 



20 

As stated iu the preceding table, based upon tbe operations of Inst 
autumn, tbe item of artificial manuring can be brought down to about 
2 cents per pound of dry tea produced in a crop of over 300 pounds to 
tbe acre. By a suitable location on naturally very fertile lands the 
expenditure for manuring may be obviated, at least for some years, and 
a consequent saving of several cents per pound effected in the cost of 
production. 

A greater productiveness per plant and per acre must lessen the cost 
of each pound of made tea, as it will reduce the distance to be traversed 
in picking the leaf. Incidentally it will permit for the same extent of 
gardens a reduction in the factory expenses, on the general principle 
that the greater the output the less the cost of tlie unit. 



IRRIGATION. 

Again, it will i)robably be possible to materially increase the produc- 
tiveness of the tea gardens by irrigation. A comparison of the summer 
and annual rainfalls at Charleston with those of a number of promi- 
nent Oriental tea-gTowing districts shows that the latter receive not 
only a very much larger annual rainfall, but that the i)roi)ortion which 
falls in the tea-growing period, from May to September, inclusive, is 
decidedly greater. 

Comparison of rainfall at Charleston, S. C, with rainfall in India and China. 



Locality. 



Charleston, S. C 

Goalparah. Assam 

Leebsanpor, As.saiu 

Darjeeliug 

Cautou aud Macao, China 



Annual 
rainfall. 


Eainfall Relation 1 


May-Sep- 
teinber. 

Inches. 


of lattei 
to former. 


Inches. 


Per cent. 


50.99 


31.31 


55 


94.44 


80.39 


85 


90.45 


CG. 48 


73 


129.50 


111.06 


86 


78.96 


60.22 


76 



MAKING NEW GARDENS. 

The work of establishing additional tea gardens for purely experimen- 
tal purposes has progressed favorably. Under the auspices and with the 
pecuniary assistance of the U. S. Department of Agriculture the lands 
have been cleaned of the dense forest growth which originally covered 
them (PI. IX), thoroughly grubbed, and more or less leveled ; treated with 
burnt marl at the rate of 1 ton to the acre to remove any sourness, and 
the preliminary steps taken toward supplying irrigation and subsoil 
drainage. The laud has yet to be deeply plowed, and on the advent of 
the rainy season supi)lied with tea seedlings, of which there are many 
thousands in the nurseries. See Plate VI, figure 2. 

This undertaking is, from the immediate surrounding conditions, 
necessarily expensive; but considering the otherwise favorable circum- 
stances aud the prime importance of the experiment, the results should 
amply repay the cost. In this section of the Southern States there are 



Report No 61, Dept of Agr. 



Plate IX. 




21 

countless acres of rich lauds, susceptible of irrigatiou, now only par- 
tially cultivated, which may be utilized for this new industry if the 
initial exi)eriiuent proves satisfactory. And the recent evidence before 
the Industrial Commission reveals for many parts of the South a 
pecuniary remuneration of labor on the farm not so much above that of 
the Oriental laborer as was formerly believed. 

The Pinehurst experience is that moist, well-drained, level land is the 
best for tea. LIow much increase in the crop can be obtained by arti- 
ficial irrigation remains to be seen; as also how much water it is desir- 
able to apply. M. ^Martin states (Annales Agronomiques XIII) that 
each plant requires about 13 gallons of water per weeli in the dry 
season. If planted at 5 feet distances, a garden of an acre would thus 
require 22,737 gallons weelily, or about four- fifths of an inch of water; 
and subsoil drainage is indispensable, even without any artificial 
addition to the water su]>i)ly. 

MOST PROFITABLE FIELD. 

The best Oriental teas are said to be only slightly "fired," i. e., they 
are dried at low temperatures, to preserve those volatile principles 
which give them fragrance and delicacy of fiavor. They will not bear 
distant transportation, if for no other reason, because they do not keep 
their best qualities foi- a long period. They are readily worth from $5 
to $50 per pound in Japan and China, whereas the great bulk of the 
teas which we import from those countries costs less than 15 cents per 
pound at the port of shipment. 

Twenty dollars a pound for tea means a dime or less for a cup of 
the beverage; but that price, strange as it sounds in this country, 
could not prove a barrier to the introduction of c grade of tea which 
would otherwise not be obtainable. Herein lies a most profitable, if 
limited, field for experimentation, because there can be no competition 
from afar. 

And it may be suggested that perhaps the best avenues for success 
lie in the development of selection of long Pekoe tips for the manufac- 
ture of Mandarin tea, such as is made in China; and in the shielding 
of the tender leaf from the direct rays of the sun, as is done with mats 
in Japan. 

A PLEA FOR AMERICAN TEA. 

The following article, prepared by the author for the Florida Times- 
Union, and published by that paper in 1897, treats of tea at length, and 
it has been thought advisable to reproduce it in full in this report: 

Commercial tea is made from the leaves of the camellia thea. Formerly, wheu it 
was erroneously supposed that black and green teas were necessarily made from dif- 
ferent plants, it was attempted to distinguish scientitically between the varieties 
used in the production of each; for, although either sort may be made from the 
same leaf, experience will show that each variety of the tea plant ia better adapted 
for the manufacture of the one or the other. 



22 

Practically it is desirable to separate as distinct varieties the two most diverorent 
types — viz, tbe Assamese and the Chinese — from the many intermediate sorts which 
have resulted from their hybridization or are the result of climatic and other influ- 
ences upon them. 

It is claimed that the original tea plant is indigenous to Assam, a province in 
northeastern British India. There in the jungles of the Brahmapootra River, in a 
hot, steaming atmosphere, where frost is unknown, shaded by lofty subtropical 
forests, were found tea trees attaining a height of 25 or inore feet, clothed with large, 
lustrous, bright-green leaves, measuring 9 inches in length and 4 in width. It is 
believed by many that all cultivated tea owes its origin to this source, and that 
when its utility to man was recognized it was thence carried to the north and east, 
even to the remote and chilly northern islands of Japan. 

The result of this climatic change was to stunt the plant and shrink the foliage to 
the small, dull-colored, laucet-shaped leaves characteristic of the variety generally 
(but with some injustice) called Chinese. 

Thus the tea plant, although originally from a subtropical climate, can endure 
very considerable cold, even brief periods of ice and snow, but at thi expense of its 
«ize and, as we shall see, utility. The converse is also true — that varieties which 
have suflfered from cold, neglect, and insutticient nourishment readily respond to 
more favorable conditions. The Pinehurst experiments have amjjly demonstrated 
this fact. 

FAVORABLE CONDITIONS. 

It is generally held that certain natural conditions of climate and command of 
cheap labor are indispensable for the sttccess of tea culture. Among the former are 
a uniformly warm but not excessively hot temperature, one quite free from frosts, 
and an abundant rainfall, its copiousness being directly proportional to the inten- 
sity of the heat; and as liand labor plays an important part in the tea industry, 
necessarily so in the plucking of the leaf, the cost of labor demands careful atten- 
tion. To which sujijiosed essentials maybe added the necessity of a deep, rich, 
thoroughly drained soil, since the tea plant requires the most abundant sustenance. 

It will be at once suggested that a great and apparently insuperable disparity 
exists in most of these prerequisites between the Oriental tea countries and the 
Southern I'nited States. It is true that almost all of the latter country is liable to 
frost and certainly by far the greater part to occasional ice; that the average rain- 
fall is only half of that in India, and that the price of labor is several times greater. 
Nevertheless, there are, as we think, substantial reasons why tea should be exten- 
sively cultivated in this country. 

MAY BE CULTIVATED IN THE SOUTH. 

It is not necessary that the annual rainfall should exceed 60 inches where the 
average temperature is less than 70'- I"., especially if the greater part of the yearly 
precipitation occurs in the growing season. This is true of Japan, China, the 
higher altitudes of Ceylon, and some districts of India, where altogether the greater 
part of the world's tea is produced. And by a proper treatment of the soil, by 
nnderdrainage, subsoil ])lowing, and deep pulverization, a gain of moisture equiva- 
lent to a fall of 10 to !."> inches of rain is secured. This effect is enhanced by plant- 
ing cowpeas between the tea bushes, whose roots penetrate the soil and dying not 
only leave valuable food for the tea, but render the earth much more porous and 
capable of retaining moisture during seasons of drought. 

Frost and brief periods of cold curtail the production of tea; but some of the 
choicest brands, particularly those of great flavor, come from climates whose tem- 
perature often falls in winter below 32 F. A decided gain in quality compensates 
for a lesser yield in quantity. 

The several tea countries exhibit a marked difference in the production per bush. 
Thus, iu India and Ceylon exceptionally productive estates enjoy a yield of 8 to 10 



23 

ounces of dry tea per busb ; the general average being .3 to 4 ounces, and at the 
higher altitudes 2 to 3 ounces. In China the bush is said to produce 2 ounces, but 
only by a system of plucking which approaches stripping. In Japan the yield is 1 
ounce or less. At Pinehurst, with line picking (ordinary picking should give fully 
50 per cent more), the "Rose Garden," planted with thoroughly accliuuited Assam 
hybrids, gave this year (1897) 3 ounces per bush; a garden of Chinese origin, for.r- 
fifths of an ounce, and one of Japanese, one-half ounce. It is observable how the 
effect of the native climate follows the seed into even distant lauds. 

A^ery many crops are remuneratively grown out of their natural zones, aud often 
with an improvement of the quality, although usually at enhanced cost of labor and 
attention. This is strikingly shown in the case of tea, in the higher valuation of 
the product of the Darjeeling gardens in India, as also of the more elevated ones in 
Ceylon, and of the black and green teas from the northern district of China (the 
home of the thea viridis). The higher price of labor in this section should not 
prove an insuperable obstacle to the cultivation of tea. 

DUTIES MAY BE RESTORED. 

Temijorarily the tea market is depressed, aud immense quantities of the cheaper 
sorts are being thrown upon us, especially as we impose no duty on tea. The United 
States stands alone among civilized nations in the latter respect. Free-trade Great 
Britain imposes a duty of S cents per pound on the tea from her own colonies, and 
they furnish almost all that she consumes. The continental European countries 
place on tea duties of from 20 to 40 cents. Russia, which proverbially enjoys the 
best tea, charges the highest rate. 

Some years ago, when the war between the States necessitated additional revenue, 
there was a duty on tea of 25 and later 15 cents per pound. To-day the revenue of 
the Government does not cover its expenditures, and con8e(iuently there is frequent 
discussion of the advisability of restoring the duty. An increase of 20 cents per 
pound is equivalent to one- tenth of a cent per cup of tea, since a pound of good tea 
should suffice for 200 cups of the beverage. A duty of 20 cents per pound would 
more than compensate for the difference in the cost of labor on the middling and 
low-middling grades, which without national protection in the form of duty or 
bonus it would be folly to attempt to raise on a commercial scale in this country. 
It is surely coming — the duty on tea — and just as surely as this Government will go 
on spending more than it collects. A war or any other cause for extraordinary 
expenditure must promptly reinstate it. 

But aside from possible remunerative conditions not as yet existing, it will pay to 
raise the better grades of tea in the Southern States wherever the climate and lalior 
best subserve the purpose. We fully believe that we have demonstrated that fact 
at Pinehurst. There may be more promising undertakings; there may be regions 
where ample and profitable employment is enjoyed by all, with a reasonable outlook 
for the immediate future; but the writer does not know where they are. On the 
contrary, the population seems to be increasing more rajtidly than the means of 
employment and sustenance; and, without regard to the question of tbe currency, 
the day is almost upon us when many must be idle unless new industries are pro- 
vided. The cultivation of tea otters easy outdoor occupation for men incapable of 
hard labor in a hot, malarial region; it enables women and children to earn their 
livelihood, as they are compelled to do in all thickly inhabited countries. It is not 
a case of "half a loaf."' According to our experience, ordinarily skillful and indus- 
trious laborers may be safely paid as much in tea gardens as in cotton, corn, or pea 
fields. 

WHAT JIAY NOW RE DONE. 

There is a large class of people who might profitably add the cultivation of tea to 
that of fiowers and vegetaldes, filling out the corners of their gardens and home fields 
■with tea bushes, as they do in China, or substituting useful as well as ornamental 



24 

evergreen hedges of that plant for the present uusightlj- and costly and frequently 
unreliable fences. Cultivated in this way, the outlay of time, labor, and money 
could hardly prt)ve burdensome ; and, as one result, the household should be able to 
supply its own tea — pure, strong-, and invigorating, instead of the wishy-washy, 
often far from cheap, stuli" generally sold throughout the country. 

As these little tea gardens are extended and multiply, factories will be established 
in each neighborhood for the larger manufacture of commercial tea, whither the 
products of the gardens surrounding may be brought and sold, precisely as canning 
factories and dairies consume the surplus production of fruit and milk. 

One feature in the cultivation of tea has only to be stated to appeal to everyone 
who plants, namely, that the season for gathering the leaf lasts in this climate for 
six months. Thus a crop is not dependent for at least partial success upon the. 
weather of any one or two months, as is so ai)t to be the case with most of the objects 
of the husbandman's labor and solicitude. 

For the present it will be wiser to limit the production of tea in the South to the 
better grades, such as retail at I'roni .50 cents to $1 per pound. The greater cost of 
unskilled labor in this country than in the Orient should constitute a smaller frac- 
tion of the total expense if the product commands a higher price. Other things 
being equal, the quality of any tea depends on the " fineness" of the leaf plucked. 
If only the tiny, tender, youngest leaf be picked, the quantity of the crop must be 
comparatively small: but its quality will be decidedly superior to that obtained by 
"coarse" plucking, which also embraces the older, larger, and necessarily tougher 
leaves. 

A PLAN OF OPERATIONS. 

In the selection of seed, it is desirable to procure the nearest approach to the 
Assam variety that the local climate will permit, if our (dtject be to attain the 
greatest yield and strength consistent with quality; but it is to be remembered 
how exceedingly sensitive to cold is the indigenous Assam. If delicacy of flavor be 
sought, some of the Chinese or Indian hybrids will aiFord that, with a very fair leaf 
production. The intention of the grower to produce green or black tea will influ- 
ence the selection of the seed. Here we have Assamese (at least some few that have 
survived the climate), Darjceliug, Kaugra, Kunuiou, Oeylon, Formosa, Chinese, and 
Japanese; also that Americanized stock which, from importations of many years 
ago (perhaps fifty), may be regarded as thoroughly acclimated. From all of these, 
except some .Tapanese, which we owe tc that Government, and Formosan, better 
black than green tea can be made. 

If foreign seed is desired, orders had better be sent to those who make a business 
of raising, selling, and shipping seed; otherwise there will ensue the natural disap- 
pointment from the loss of three out of four consignments, the consequence of 
ignorance and carelessness. The best seed comes from groves especially reserved 
for that pur])ose, and not subjected to the ordinary pruning and leaf plucking. 
The cost of lOO pounds Oriental tea seed, say 40,000 seeds, laid down here, will vary 
from $60 to $120, according to the quality and the expense of the transportation. 

I'l-ANTING THE SEED. 

The sooner the seed is planted out, after maturing in the autnnm, the better; and 
it is advisable to protect it in nurseries. Choose a thin, rather light soil, over- 
lying a harder subsoil, with free drainage, near a spring or other water supply; 
spade the top soil to the depth of 6 inches; rake it otf level; the surface should be 
rather below than above that of the surrounding land. Erect a frame and light 
cover of boards or boughs over the bed, as a protection from cold, but especially from 
direct sunlight. It should be sufiicieutly open to admit the rain. The underlying 
soil is left undisturbed, with the object of curtailing the growth of the taproot, 
which otherwise might suffer injury m the subsequent transplanting. Plant the 
seed 2 or 3 inches deep, at distances of 3 inches, in rows 4 inches or more apart; 
thoroughly wet the bed, and cover it with a few inches of pine straw or other litter. 



25 

If tlic rain be iusufficient, tlioiougbly moisten the uursery bed, especially when the 
young soedliugs begin to appear. Remove, then, almost all of the litter; keep the 
bed clean from weeds. 

"With the occurrence of the wet season in midsummer tlie seedlings should have 
attained a height of 4 to 6 inches, and are then readj^ for transplanting. Tliis 
should be done with the ordinary strawberry transplanter. Good fresh domestic 
seed affords 75 per cent seedlings; but with importations from a groat distance 25 
per cent is a fair return, although we have occasionally germinated GO per cent. 

LAYING OUT THE GARDEN. 

Select level land, naturally moist, but free from stagnant water; the soil should 
be light and porous, rich in thoroughly decomposed organic matter (preferably from 
oak leaves), and as deep as possible. The subsoil should be self-draining and pre- 
sent no obstacle to the deep penetration of the taproot. 

Analyses of the best Indian tea soils show a great deficiency of lime, an absence 
of sulphuric acid, the constant occurrence of manganese, and a large amount 
of nitrogen, as also considerable quantities of potash and magnesia micas. The 
best Chinese, Japanese, and .Javanese tea soils are said to contain a great deal 
of ferruginous clay, and to be likewise deficient in lime. The high quality of the 
Formosa tea has been attributed to the large content of iron in the soil. At Pine- 
hurst experiments have been conducted on sandy, clayey, and bottom lands; on 
level fields, on hillsides, and in drained ponds, with the result that wo earnestly 
recommend level lands thoroughly drained, porous to as great a depth as possible, 
and sweet, i. e., free from all virginal acidity. It was early recognized that none of 
our lands afforded sufficiently abundant and quick plant food to stimulate and 
maintain that unusually luxuriant growth which is indispensable in a successful 
tea garden. Consequently, all have received abundant enrichment. The chief 
question presented to us seemed to be whether a tea industry could be inaugurated 
here on a profitable basis, and minor considei'ations had to be posti)oued. The dif- 
ference in the yield of the several gardens is to be attributed to the uutM[ual pro- 
ductive habits of the dift'erent sorts and to the varying physical conditions of the 
lands. Nevertheless, as regards the former, it is noticeable how quickly the tea 
plant responds to generous treatment and returns full payment therefor in quantity 
and quality. With this increased vigor comes a tendency toward a type character- 
istic of the local cliuiate; and, as a consequence, experts have appreciated and 
styled as "South Carolina" the flavor which belongs to the Pinehurst tea. 

It has been found desirable to plant at greater distances than is common in the 
East, so that draft animals and the usual cultivators may be substituted as far as 
possible for hand labor, such as obtains in cheap-labor countries. Tea is usually 
planted in rows. The plants uuiy be at distances of 4 feet or more, according to the 
size of the kind, laid out rectangularly or by alternate planting (''quincunx"), as 
used in some Florida orange groves, whereby three-way plowing is secured, or hedges 
may be formed by planting at 12 to 18 inches apart, with alleys of 5 or more feet 
between them. The latter system involves more hoeing, but can be advantageously 
used on slopes, to prevent the washing away of the soil. We have also planted 
seed " at the stake ; " that is, where the garden is to be formed and the tea bushes to 
stand, but the nurserj method is preferable. 

Each seedling should receive the protection, from the sun and cold winds, of two 
shingles; in summer they are placed to the south and west and in winter to the 
north and west. 

CULTIVATION. 

Keep the young plants growing by any and all good agricultural methods, other- 
wise leave them alone, unless it be to pinch back any excessive upward growth. As 
a rule, it will be well to defer any excessive leaf plucking until the third year ; never- 
theless we have made about 50 pounds of tea to the acre from 2-year-old gardens 



26 

without detriment. Vacaucies caused by the death of individual plaiit.s should be 
filled as early as possible from surplus stock left in the nursery. 

The manures employed at Pinehurst are carefully preserved stable compost (forti- 
fied with acid phosphate and kaluit) wherever it can he profitably utilized, and 
commercial fertilizers rich in soluble potash and available nitrogen, with a modi- 
cum of soluble phosphates. New land gets with ns a heavy dressing of burned 
marl m advance of cultivation. The tea plant demands the richest of food and 
plenty of it. In the autumn cowpeas are sown in the alleys. 

THE CHOI*. 

Leaf-plucking demands the careful attention of the tea grower. It is a light 
employment, suitable for women and children, but they must be patiently taught, 
and their work must be strictly scrutinized. At Pinehurst colored children do the 
picking, and very satisfactorily. A free school (PI. VII, fig. 2) is maintained for them; 
every pupil of suitable age and size is required to pick ; others are excluded from 
the gardens. Regular attendance and better discipline are thus secured, liut, 
otherwise, there would be no difficulty in securing an ample force, as the Avages 
earned prove in themselves a sufficient attraction. The older children earn from 30 
to 50 cents a day ; the younger ones in proportion. During the past season the tea 
gardens were picked twenty times, or once every ten days, and it took three days 
for the average force of twenty children tu make the round of the gardens. The 
more industrious and skillful pick from 10 to 20 pounds of fresh leaf per diem. It 
takes 4.i pounds of fresh leaf to make 1 of dry tea. 

I-LUSllKS. 

The growing tea plant throws out from its branches tender, bright shooLs. On 
examination these are found to consist of a tiny, tender, unexpanded leaf bud at the 
end of the shoot (the so-called Pekoe tip, or flowery Pekoe); an almost equally ten- 
der, small leaf follows on the stem (the orange Pekoe), and then one slightly larger 
and firmer (the Pekoe). The bud and two leaves furnish Pekoe tea. Following 
them come two yet larger and more mature leaves, the first and second Souchong; 
and the twig has often two more still. 

In the axis of each leaf, that is, between it and the stem, may be seen a diminu- 
tive leaf l>ud, which, on proper encouragement, will rapidly produce another wholly- 
equipped shoot. This encouragement is afi'orded by furnishiug such a stimulus to 
luxuriant growth that its existent foliage fails to meet the demands of the plant, or 
by artificially depriving it of the greater part of its leaves. These new shoots con- 
stitute a "flush ; " and as each shoot has several leaf buds, it will be seen how rapidly 
the work of restoring the natural e(iuilil)riiim can proceed. 

The cultivated Assamese variety is capable of bearing twenty or more flushes in 
the season; the Chinese and . Japanese, only a few. On young plants and with the 
earliest spring flushes of older gardens the pickers are taught to ni]) olf between the 
thumb nail and forefinger the Pekoe tip and three-quarters of the orange Pekoe leaf. 
As the season advances and more leaf may be safely picked, tliree-ciuarters of the 
Pekoe leaf are additionally taken. Thus two leaf buds are left at the end of the 
shoot ibr juoduciug others in due time. At the height of the seasoTi we sometimes 
pluck three-quarters of the first .Souchong, if quite tender. 

This constitutes fine picking; hence the strength and flavor of the Pinehurst tea. 
In other countries both of the Souchongs are usually picked, and in China, at the 
summer crop, almost all, if not (|uite all, of the young shoots is taken. 

The children put the leaf into Swiss trout baskets. They are not permitted to 
pack it down tightly, for fear of its becoming heated. Nor is it allowed to collect 
in large quantities in the field, but is brought to the factory, very carefully exam- 
ined as to fineness and general condition, weighed, and spread out on a cool, clean 
floor. 



27 

When the tea bnsh has lost its yoiithlul vigor, when tiic intervals between the 
flnshes are protracted, or the growth has become too tall and irregular, perhaps 
entangled, then prnniiig beionies necessary. This stoj) consists in the moderate or 
occasionally rigorous cutting back of the foliage, so as to force a long succession of 
flushes. It should be done in the winter, and a bush severely pruned at that time 
should receive only mild picking during the ensuing spring and early summer. Tlie 
production of leaf on even the most luxuriant types of tea is but scant if they be 
left to themselves in their native jungles, whereas if introduced into the open sun- 
light, and properly pruned and cultivated, they become capa1)]e of an enormous 
yield. Nor does intensive cultivation and cropping, judiciously exercised, appear 
seriously to impair their strength and life. The importance of this steji was quickly 
appreciated by that veteran horticulturist, William Saunders, of the National 
Department of Agriculture, on his ofticial inspection of the Piuehurst tea gardens 
during the past suuuuer. In his report to the .Secretary of Agriculture he wrote: 

"The first garden visited at Pinehurst in company with Dr. Shepard was one of 
about 2 acres in extent, where the pickers were busy collecting a Mlush." Having 
grown many thousands of te.i plants, and being familiar with methods of culture in 
India, so far as verbal information from growers and illustrations could convey ideas 
of management, the writer saw at first glance that he was looking upon a tea gar- 
den of perfect cultixation. The tirst attraction of such a g;irden is the remarkable 
color of the foliage, a deep, velvety green, shining with Aigorous health on the lower 
leaves of the plants. The uuiformity and perfection of shape of the plants, indica- 
tive of skillful pruning, is next noticeable. Skill in pruning is also apparent in the 
vigorous growth of the young shoots, giving succuleucy to the leaf and promoting 
rapid development of continuous llushings. All these features combine to Jbrm a 
scene of uucommou interest of the appreciative observer. 

"No single operation in the management of tea gardens at Pinehurst is more inter- 
esting to a practical plant grower than the system of pruning. This has been reached 
after a long study of various methods, some of which have jiroved disastrous. 

"Here the pruning is directed first to the gradual extension of the breadth of the 
plant without greatly increasing its height, but increasing the number of shoots 
available for picking; and, second, to secure strength in these shoots, so that their 
vigor is maintained uj) to the last flush, and they are able to respond quickly in the 
production of new leaves after each picking." 

MANUFACTURE. 

There are very many ccmmercial teas. Prominent and most divergent are the 
so-called green and black; the intermediate ones are numerous. Two processes are 
requisite in the uuinufacture of all teas, viz, rolling or other manipulation, whereby 
the leaves are preserved and the oily cells in the leaves are broken and their con- 
tents rendered easily extractable by hot water, and drying, whereby the tea is pre- 
served. In the manufacture of green tea these operati(ms suffice, and they should 
be performed with celerity, so as to prevent the action of the atmospheric oxygen 
upon the leaf. In making black tea two additional steps are necessary, viz, wither- 
ing, whereby the leaf is prepared for rolling, and oxidation (formerly thought to be 
a fermentation), whereby certain chemical changes are induced. It is not intended 
to enter upon the description of the manufacture of tea in this article, already per- 
haps too long. There will be abundant time to thoroughly study and provide for 
its various operations before the tea plantations, which the writer hopes to see 
started in Florida, are ready to furnish leaf. That he is a firm believer in the 
future, if not the present, of American tea his 50 acres of tea gardens attest. 

Charles U. Shepard. 
Pinehurst, Summekville, S. C. 



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